Status Updates From Hunters of Dune (Dune, #7)

The beginning of the end of the dune series. I started in August 2022. Time to move on!

I fear this is actually gonna kill me. I’m going to take another one year break before book 8 because this seriously even made not want to work on grad apps today 💔🫩
Not as bad as book 5!

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I can't help but wonder if Frank Herbert's own plan was for the Enemy to be thinking machines that managed to survive the Butlerian Jihad, or if that's a result of Brian and KJA gleefully inserting their fanfic into the main series. Because they wrote the Butlerian Jihad books before doing this one.
Whatever. This didn't suck as much as I expected, but it wasn't good, either.

I don't understand the point of Uxtal. Made us sit through all that bullshit, only to kill him off unceremoniously. What a waste of time.
Duncan wanting a Murbella ghola is multiple levels of fucked. It's not just being around Murbella he wants, it's specifically having sex with her. So, what, is he going to wait until the ghola is 12 and then start having sex with it? Then again, that IS the weird shit Frank did...

The amount of timeskips has really devalued the story. Like, Khrone sat around torturing the Baron Harkonnen ghola and failing to awaken his memory for 3 whole years before finally thinking of trying something else like sensory deprivation. That's idiotic. These people are supposed to be smart. They wouldn't sit around doing the same thing that ends in failure for 3 goddamn years without trying something else.

I started this to get closure to the Dune Sage but wow it’s rough. I’m surprised because I liked the prequel novels that the authors did. I’m hoping the book gets better but I can’t say I’m not worried

Welp. Beach trip over, and I didn't even finish 1 full book. Knew it'd probably happen. I was engrossed in playing my emulation handheld the first week, and then the second week I basically just binged Law & Order during most of the free time. Oh well. Means I'll be reading less this year, but I'll still get stuff done.
As for this book - ehhh. I'm getting bored by it. Too many timeskips makes it hard to care.

The conversation where Duncan retcons Paul's history with some of Brian/KJA's bullshit and then says 'we're recreating history' was rather gross. Boldly stating what the two of them are doing to the Dune franchise.
Other than stuff like that, it's still ok. Some parts are kinda like ehhh bad writing, but nothing truly awful yet.

Listing off all the famous characters that the Tleilaxu had cells of, and then including (what I assume are) the main characters of the Butlerian Jihad novels felt like a fanfic author desperately grabbing at relevance. Some real 'My OCs are important, too!' bullshit.
I know Frank did it too to some degree, but it feels like they are SUPER overusing the whore name-calling for the Honored Matres. We get it!

Surprisingly, I don't hate it yet. The writing definitely lacks the intricacy that Frank Herbert's had, but honestly, I was getting pretty tired of Frank's style by the end of the 6th book. So I don't totally mind a departure from it. Nothing about the story seems overly dumb or unskilled yet. Man, what if I end up liking this?? I'm going to feel like such an uncultured pleb.

Didn't think I was going to read these post-Frank novels. But I sort of had a growing interest to see them for myself in the past few months. Saved it for my beach trip, as usual.
The story in the preface about Brian just so happening to come across a safety deposit box of his father's, 10 years after his death, with Dune 7 plans, seems like utter bullshit meant to appease fans accusing him of cashing in.

Хто кого черпав?

"In his joy to be going away from Matre Superior Hellica, the Lost Tleilaxu researcher found the courage to view the Face Dancer as his rescuer."

"У радості від розлуки з Матроною Настоятелькою Гелікою дослідник із Загублених тлейлаксу черпав відвагу вбачати у лицеплясі свого рятівника"

Наскільки ж це фіговий переклад. Це фантастика написана в доску стандартною англійською. Невже "тринадцятилітки", "коли все це записувано", солдати що кинулися у "безприкладному пориві", "у повторному житті", "нерозпізнавальний корабель у нерозпізнавальному всесвіті", "оранжевий"... невже оце все ок, повинно там бути? І це буквально перші 6-7 сторінок. Далі поки що намагаюсь не звертати увагу.

Eh…

Meh

Heaviest politics in dune , most parties , and heavy action toe toe with heretics .

Return of Infamous characters in a good way .

Some problems with the net and the oracle of time .

🛑🛑🛑🛑🛑🛑🛑🛑🛑

Ohhh "welcome back , Baron Vladimir Harkonnen" , climaxing , peaking .

brian herbert’s writing style is much less challenging to read but less satisfying because of that.

rlly rlly close to dnfing, but like stuff is finally happening so idk

So one question of many - how is it that the “unknown enemy” is still unknown when Murbella not only has the experience of an honored matre but also that of all her ancestors as she’s a reverend mother??? 🤦‍♀️

man the story in this is good so far, but these chapter opening quotes are so lackluster

heyyy this isn’t half bad!

okayyyyy

so far; p cool

Fireeeeeee, honored matres and bene geserit are forced to team up

amazing

What a fun way to bring everyone back for a final conflict! It’s definitely pulpy and not as elegantly done as if Frank Herbert himself had done it, but it’s also super fun!

Now everything will come full circle and the legacy of dune will be written. Hats off to Brian Herbert for capturing the essence of what his father wanted for a concluding adventure.

amazing